Saturday December 14, 30 regional Misses will try to win the title of Miss France 2025 during an exceptional evening which will take place at the Arena Futuroscope, in Poitiers. A few days before the candidates' preparation trip to Ivory Coast, Louison Thévenin, Miss Champagne-Ardenne 2024, answered questions from Tele-Leisureofficial partner of the election, during the shooting of the official portraits. Aged 24 and studying tax law, the young woman stands out for her height: 1.85 m. Criticized for her physique when she was younger, the former basketball player has today turned her difference into a strength.
Louison Thévenin (Miss Champagne-Ardenne 2024), a law student and former basketball player
Tele-Leisure : You were elected Miss Aube 2019 and participated in Miss Lorraine 2021. What pushed you to enter the world of beauty pageants?
Louison Thévenin : What made me want to participate was the challenge. I always push through things, so this was my third chance and I told myself I was going to live it to the fullest. It's my last year of studies, so beauty pageants weren't necessarily innate to me. I do basic high-level basketball so it was more jogging, sneakers, but I wanted to feel a little more feminine, change a little this daily life between studies and basketball, and give myself a new challenge.
You are a tax law student and preparing for the bar exam. How do you manage your time between your studies and your preparation for Miss France?
I set priorities. These have always been my classes. Five years of law school is a lot, so I absolutely wanted to get to the end of things. Being Miss is a break in life, it's great, but you still have to keep your studies a priority. This is what kept me going for five years so I'm going to see it through to the end. My teachers allowed me to put my classes aside for a month and a half. When I come back, I'll take everything back, it's largely doable, I'm not worried about that so I'm living the adventure to the fullest.
You played basketball at a high level. Where does this passion come from?
From my parents. They met on a basketball court, I was born on a basketball court and I always dreamed of being a basketball player. Basically, I didn't want to be a lawyer but a professional basketball player. I managed to go into this sector but by doing it at a high level, I realized that it wasn't made for me and that I didn't necessarily appreciate it more than that. Then as a woman, I told myself that when I wanted to stop my career, I wanted to have a rebound and to have studies behind so I put basketball aside.
“They called me the breadboard”: Louison Thévenin (Miss Champagne-Ardenne 2024) mocked for her physique
You are 1.85 m tall, which makes you the second tallest candidate to participate in Miss France. after Miss Lorraine. Have you always been comfortable with your size?
When I lived in a world of basketball players, I was actually little. 1.85m is not huge and I played with girls who were much taller than me so I felt comfortable. When I stopped playing basketball, I immediately realized that I was tall and it was when I started college that I became a little self-conscious, I admit.. I never wore heels, I lowered my shoulders to make myself a little smaller, and it was the Misses who made me feel super comfortable. With heels, I'm 1.95 m tall, I accept it, I'm seen more than everyone else and that's an advantage. Today, I make it a real strength.
Where does this complex that you developed at university come from?
I felt a little different. But it wasn't even a resort. I saw the girls around me, the female average is 1.68 m, I'm 1.85 m, so by comparison I told myself that I was huge. I didn't like wearing heels, I felt embarrassed and people asked me: “Why do you wear heels? You are too big, you are unusual.” I responded that I found it feminine and today, I really embrace it.
Has your size earned you mockery or criticism like other Misses?
Mockery, never. Obviously, I was quite tall and quite thin so some criticisms, yes. They called me “the breadboard“, but ultimately it passes quickly, you get used to it. It's not good to say that you get used to it, but when you know what you're ultimately worth, you learn to live with it. You just have to gain confidence in yourself. Even today, people tell me that I am unusual. Well, I'm very happy to be unusual, at least I'm different.
Louison Thévenin (Miss Champagne-Ardenne 2024) talks about her preparation “very fast” for Miss France 2025
Do you have brothers and sisters?
I have a little brother who is 21 years old. He has a BTS in everything related to water as a renewable source. He would like to work in water engineering.
How are your loved ones supporting you in this election?
They are fully behind me. My mom had a little preconception about the Misses and when I told her I would do it anyway, no matter what she thought, that's when she really discovered what the Miss world was all about. Today, it is even the opposite process. When she hears criticism, she explains what it really is and she understood that it was not just a beauty contest but really an adventure that allows young women to experience great things. My brother is fully behind me, he reposts all my photos, all his friends are fully behind me. I'm lucky, I have good support.
Which stage of the preparation and election do you fear the most?
None because I leave telling myself that I am a fighter and a perseverant person. Either way, I will be proud of myself. The goal is not to regret anything. Maybe I dread the end of the adventure because it's the moment when, if I'm not Miss France, everything stops. The return to reality may be complicated but I have already planned it. Otherwise, I don't fear anything. Today, I'm ready, that's also why I showed up. I waited five years and, in five years, I gained knowledge, eloquence, confidence, I know how to parade. I approach it with great serenity.
Do you attach importance to the comments you read on the networks?
At the beginning, yes because we are elected, we see the euphoria, it's great. But we quickly return to reality. In addition, there is fatigue, media pressure. At first I said to myself: “Damn, what if people don't like me, how can I win?” And then I realized that the whole principle of the Miss France competition is subjective and that, whatever the case, there are thirty different profiles. If someone doesn't like me, someone else will like me. I was not born to please people. I'm just proud of what I've accomplished so I welcome criticism.
If you are elected Miss France on December 14, who will be your first thought?
I admit that I didn't plan for it. But I think my first thought will be for my family. They were my first support, they were the ones who accompanied me on this adventure. My second thought will necessarily be for my committee. It's the work of the shadows that we don't see, everything they do is incredible, it's the little hands that shine a light on us. They are incredible people who also deserve to have the light shined on them.
How did your regional committee prepare you for the Miss France election?
It was very quick because I only had one month since I was elected almost exactly a month ago. I mainly had appointments for the trousseau because you have to find pretty outfits and what goes with them, beauty appointments, trying to find times to do sports to prepare your body as much as possible. Where I am lucky is that I did not necessarily have to prepare for the oral since I already worked on it during my years of study at university. The goal was to do as much as possible so that I could leave peacefully.
“I put them back on repeat” : Louison Thévenin (Miss Champagne-Ardenne 2024) fan of two cult cinema sagas
Do you often watch television?
When there's a movie I like, I'll watch it. Otherwise, I'm more in my books or a gym.
What do you watch when you have time?
I'm a bit psychotic so I watch the same films all the time. Every month I watch the same ones, Lord of the Rings et Harry Potterand I put them back on loop. I know them by heart. Otherwise, I like to watch entertaining programs like Koh Lanta. I like to watch Daily to inform me a little.
Which candidate from the last season of Koh Lantado you prefer?
I was for Jacques, I love him. He has an atypical personality, he is kind, endearing, I like him a lot.
Do you have a secret passion?
I love to eat. [Elle rit.] It's not because we're Miss that we have to deprive ourselves, on the contrary. I love discovering new dishes and cooking because it's important to make your own dishes. I don't order anything, I do everything myself.
After the election, do you plan to devote yourself entirely to law or do you have other desires?
I absolutely want to finish what I started so I will finish my year, but I have travel plans. I dream of being a diplomat so I absolutely have to speak several languages. I have already planned trips, as soon as I can, of several months to learn languages in other countries. I speak a little English but I would like to be bilingual, I have done a little German, I love Italian and I would like to learn Chinese because it is the language of the future.
